October 4, 2011 – ARGENTINA -The sheep die unable to find food and when they can the volcanic ash mix turns into a toxic grind for the animal. “We estimate over half a million sheep have been lost because of the ashes which continue to be spewed by the volcano” said Ernesto Siguero president of the Chubut Rural Society. Chile’s Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcano continues to erupt. Ashes also weigh on the sheep’s wool making it harder to move around with the extra burden and ‘once they sit it’s hard for them to stand up’. Likewise the continued ash in the air harms livestock’s sight. But people living in the area are also suffering the consequences of the ashes in their daily lives. The constant ash blocks chimneys, gets into the water pipes, covers with dust light bulbs and when it’s windy, drivers guide themselves by the culverts because of the almost zero visibility. In some areas the volcanic ash has accumulated almost a metre high making it even difficult for the 4 by 4 to vehicles to move around. But even more damaging is in those areas populated mostly by small farmers, on average 300 sheep: they have lost all chances of recovering unless they receive outside support, points out Siguero. The Argentina government has distributed food stamps in some areas but “we also need to save the livestock left” says Siguero. President Cristina Fernandez was last week in Chubut to open Argentina’s largest wind power farm and was given a petition letter by neighbors from rural areas. “We want you to know that the ash problem in Chubut is not a feeling. The whole Chubut plateau is covered with ash forcing farmers to advance shearing, but it’s kind of complicated, shearing scissors get stuck with the ash and wool is virtually worthless.” –Merco Press

Africa – Satellite images suggest that a restive east African volcano is continuing to simmer — after erupting in more spectacular fashion earlier this summer — in an isolated region where eyewitness accounts are few and far between. The Nabro Volcano, which lies near the border of Ethiopia and Eritrea, has been erupting since the middle of June. The new images indicate lava is flowing from the 7,280-foot (2,218-meter) peak, which is the tallest of several volcanoes in the region. Just months ago, Nabro rumbled to life for the first time in recorded history. The mountain spewed forth a thick plume of ash, disrupting air travel, and sent rivers of lava running down its sides. The eruption killed seven people and affected thousands more, according to the Eritrean government. –Our Amazing Planet

Italy - Plumes of ash and molten rock shot into the sky on Wednesday night as the volcano burst into life for the fifteenth time this year. Nearby Catania airport is often forced to close due to the clouds of ash spewed into the air by an eruption but strong winds prevented the ash from causing any disruption this time around. The spate of recent activity at Etna, Europe’s tallest and most active volcano, has sparked concerns that a bigger eruption may be on the horizon. -Telegraph

Baptism by Fire: The volcanic eruptions of 2011 have been notable because they signal a shift in the geological direction of the planet- tilting the Earth towards the spectrum of fire and the ensuing catastrophic upheaval that is destined to alter and, in some cases, reshape land masses. Not only are more volcanoes awakening from dormancy; it also appears the eruptions have become more kinetic and the volcanoes are staying active longer than what we’re typically accustomed to seeing. Unrest at Iceland’s Katla volcano, which began with a small sub-glacial eruption over the summer, has continued into the fall with two more reported tremors rattling the icy summit just over the weekend. Heightened unrest has also been seen this year at Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, Japan’s Sakurajima volcano at the Aira caldera, Alaska’s Mount Cleveland volcano and the rocky volcanic summits of Kamchatka, Russia. According to geologists, the 10,000 earthquake swarm on the German-Czech border of August-September 2011 has been attributed to the movement of magma. This month, scientists also discovered a reservoir of 3,000 cubic kilometers under the eastern horn of Africa that is expediting the tearing of the continent. Even El Hierro is now stirring in the Canary Islands after 218 years of dormancy. The number of earthquakes recorded since July 17 on the smallest of the Canary Islands exceeded 9250 on October 3, 2011. –The Extinction Protocol

We tend to talk about three volcanoes in Costa Rica: the ever-active Arenal, the renewed Turrialba and Poás. Now we can add another volcano to the watch list, that being Rincón de la Vieja (see above). Like the other Costa Rican volcanoes, it is a composite volcano with overlapping craters at its summit. It is a hulk of a volcano with a total volume of over 130 km3 – and I love that the Global Volcanism Program summary refers to it as the “Colossus of Guanacaste”. Most of the volcanoes known eruptions have been in the VEI 1-3 range until we get back to ~1820 BC, when a VEI 4 eruption produced pyroclastic flows. The volcano has seen somewhat-persistent fumarolic activity since its last eruptive period in 1995-98 with tremors reported in 2008. However, last month Rincón de la Vieja produced phreatic eruptions through the small lake at the summit crater (see below). During the middle of September, small explosions, ash falls and fish kills were reported at the summit area of Rincón de la Vieja and a visit to the area by OVSICORI scientists revealed 10-15 cm layers of ash – mostly accidental sediment spit back out of the crater lake (pdf in spanish) – in the surrounding area. This new activity has prompted the government to limit access to Rincón de la Vieja and set up a new seismometer north of the volcano.

The crater lake at the summit of Rincón de la Vieja seen in mid-September, 2011. The debris on the edges of the lake were deposited in phreatic (steam-driven) explosions). Image from OVSICORI.
Meanwhile, at Poás, the crater lake at the summit of that volcano (spanish) has dried up due to the elevated temperatures at the summit fumaroles. When the wind is low, steam plumes from the vigorous fumaroles can be seen in the nearby valleys. There was also an incandescent dome spotted in the last month at the volcano. Turrialba has also seen increase in activity as well. It has been producing light ash falls near the volcano, but the constant release of volcanic gases such as sulfur dioxide have produced corrosion up to a few kilometers from the vent. Surprisingly, the poster child for Costa Rican volcanoes, Arenal, has been very quite of late, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t find amazing pictures of the volcano, showing the denuded flanks on the volcano mixed with the lush vegetation of the area.

Want to check out some of the activity? There are multiple webcams run by OVSICORI for Arenal, however, it looks like the webcam for Turrialba is out of commission right now. If you know of any other Costa Rica volcano webcams, let us know in the comments below!

Ok, I guess we cannot be warned enough. I am concerned that certain earth change events
may occur suddenly and without warning and many will be unprepared. Now is the time, time is short.
I am not a know-it-all, but if the internet was to go down by one reason or another and people could not communcate ; A person posted a few months ago if we could still keep in contact if worse came to worst, I still say,
1) Personal/Family protection—you don’t have to kill, you can threaten/wound and escape or let them.
2) Personal/family sanitation—almost the most important item–disease
3) Protection from the elements(Shelter,clothing)
4) Pray without cease—the most important item
5) Common sense
6) Canned food that is not salt-free and has not been damaged or the metal compromised
7) Water and means to filter it.
Do what you want, friends can turn into animals, God help us.
On the other hand, it may be a good time for people who do not believe, to believe and you may have the opportunity.

So far, the mainland of the United States has been fortunate. Personally, I don’t worry as much about Yellowstone, although that would be a disastrous eruption, but I do watch Mount Rainer and Mount St. Helens.

Not to mention the awakening of so many volcanoes worldwide. Something that we humans havn’t experienced (at least not in recorded history) is stirring all this magma and it seems to be escalating! I don’t want to sound like “chicken little” but the ‘earth is moving’ and I think the ‘sky’ has a lot to do with it!!! Any thoughts on this?

Alvin,
I once viewed a documentary that said a volcanoe in west africa, maybe it was the canary islands could create a landside into the atlantic that would generate ate a tsunami that would wipe out the east coast of the USA .they referred to an event in one of the scandinavian fjiords creating a 150 ft. wave.
Your thoughts ?

You may be referring to La Palma on the Canary Islands…El Hierro, already loss close to one-third of its land mass in a land-slip eons ago. It large rocky ledges in the ocean of great mass and height pose a danger. Krakatau was a very steep volcano, towering some 813 meters in height prior to the volcano blowing intself to pieces. Similar dangers are present in Alaska.

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